A St. Tammany Parish grand jury has charged a Pearl River man with second-degree murder in the October stabbing death of his father. The panel indicted Billie G. Rawson Jr. on Thursday, a spokesman for District Attorney Walter Reed said Monday.

Billie Glenn Rawson Jr.

Rawson, who authorities said has a history of mental illness, allegedly stabbed his father, Billie G. Rawson Sr., in the leg, during an argument on Oct. 23, fatally injuring him.

Rawson was arrested later that day at a gas station in Long Beach, Miss.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said his agency received a call at about 4:30 a.m. about a dispute between a father and son. When deputies arrived at the home at 71128 Louisiana 41 in Pearl River they found the father dead and the son gone, Strain said at the time.

A family member told deputies that Rawson admitted to the killing and tipped authorities that he may have fled to Mississippi.

Billie Glenn Rawson Sr., 67, died from a stab wound to the left leg, St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Peter Galvan said.

Strain said at the time that authorities did not know what caused the dispute or why it escalated. Detective George Cox said the dispute seemed to be one-sided, and that preliminary evidence showed Rawson Sr. was attacked.

Strain said Rawson Jr. had suffered mental problems and had been admitted to a psychiatric care facility in Bogalusa prior to the stabbing.